Local emergency officials are offering safety tips ahead of today’s total solar eclipse.

Capt. Mike Wilson with the Columbus Fire Department explains the need for appropriate eye protection and to make sure you are in a safe spot if you suddenly stop to view the eclipse.

Wilson says if you are behind the wheel, pull of any roadway and find a safe spot to stop to watch the eclipse:

Wilson says you need to know that there are likely going to be traffic tieups this afternoon. He urges you to remain remain mentally prepared for delays and patient with your fellow travelers :

Wilson said that you should recognize that children are out of school today, while their parents may still be working. So be sure to have safety at the top of your mind, especially fire safety in the kitchen, as you step out to watch the eclipse unfold.:

It is finally eclipse day in North America. Our area is right in tha path of the totality, which is where the moon completely covers the sun for several minutes today.

You can expect the eclipse to start at 1:50 p.m. this afternoon with totality from 3:05 to 3:09 p.m. Columbus will have 3 minutes and 47 seconds of total darkness. The eclipse will end at 4:24 p.m. here.

And the forecast is still up in the air for this afternoon. The National Weather Service says we will likely still have some clouds this afternoon. But those will be mostly cirrus clouds and could cover 40 to 50 percent of the sky.

Bloomington will have the longest total eclipse among cities along the path of totality in Indiana at 4 minutes and 5 seconds.

Eclipse related events were going on throughout our area on Sunday. At The Commons in downtown Columbus, the Shelby Community Band unveiled an original musical composition called Totality.

That was part of the city’s Total Solarbration activities.

Jody Coffman, spokeswoman for the city, explains what is on tap for today.

Eclipsing the Renaissance, a renaissance faire, will be happening at the Columbus Municipal Airport from noon to 4:30 p.m.

The Bartholomew County Public Library and kidscommons  are hosting a Solar Spectacular at Central Middle School from noon to 4 p.m. today.

The sun will be covered by the moon and total darkness will fall in our area starting at 3:05 p.m. in Columbus.

You can find a complete list of local solar eclipse events at https://columbus.in.us/eclipse/

Local emergency officials are urging you not to call 911 for your general eclipse related questions such as road conditions.

They stress that 911 calls should be reserved for serious medical problems, fires or life-threatening situations such as fights, people with weapons or crimes in progress.

For non-emergency situations that might require help from police or firefighters, you can call the Bartholomew County dispatch center’s non-emergency line at 812-379-1689.

Bartholomew County and Columbus have set up a special line for local eclipse-related information such as events, traffic conditions or parking. Through Tuesday, you can call 812-669-5305.

A reminder, on Monday, the moon will pass between Earth and the sun, blocking the sun’s light for a few minutes.

In Columbus, the eclipse will start at 1:50 p.m. Monday afternoon with totality from 3:05 to 3:09 p.m. Columbus will have 3 minutes and 47 seconds of total darkness. The eclipse will end at 4:24 p.m. here.

Area communities will have some of the longest periods of total eclipse in Indiana that day. The length of totality in local communities includes:

• Bloomington at 4 minutes and four seconds.
• Franklin at 4 minutes and two seconds.
• Shelbyville at 3 minutes and 59 seconds.
• Edinburgh at 3 minutes and 57 seconds
• Greensburg at 3 minutes and 32 seconds.
• Seymour at 3 minutes and 8 seconds.
• North Vernon at 2 minutes, 45 seconds.

The path of totality stretches from Texas through New England and is about 115 miles wide.  The moon’s shadow will move across Indiana at between 1,700 and 1,850 miles per hour

This is the first total eclipse visible in the U.S. since 2017, and will be the last one seen here until 2044.

The Columbus Municipal Airport will be going medieval in celebration of Monday’s solar eclipse.

The airport is hosting its Eclipsing the Renaissance Faire on Monday from noon to 4:30 p.m.

The event will include performances, demonstrations, food, music, crafts and vendors.

Erin Hawkins with the Columbus Area Visitors Center explains:

This is just one of the many events going on in Columbus and Bartholomew County this weekend to celebrate the eclipse, starting today. You can find a complete listing on the Columbus Area Visitors Center eclipse website at columbus.in.us/eclipse. There is also a public safety website set up for the weekend. You can find a link at columbus.in.gov.

For more eclipse information from all of our surrounding communities, we have links on our website here: https://1010wcsi.com/category/eclipse/

A reminder, on Monday, the moon will pass between Earth and the sun, blocking the sun’s light for a few minutes. In our area, the eclipse will start at 1:50 p.m. Monday afternoon with totality from 3:05 to 3:09 p.m. Columbus will have 3 minutes and 47 seconds of total darkness. The eclipse will end at 4:24 p.m. here.

Be careful with your eyes on Monday, with experts warning of counterfeit solar eclipse glasses circulating that won’t protect your vision.

The American Astronomical Society says real eclipse glasses are specially made to block almost all light, and the the society is warning the market is full of cheap knockoffs that could cause blindness.

The knockoffs are even faking the certification labels on their junk glasses. The society provides a list of real vendors on its website here: https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/how-to-tell-if-viewers-are-safe

According to the society, real, safe solar viewers and glasses do more than reduce the Sun’s visible light to. The also block potentially harmful UV and IR radiation.

To test your glasses, you shouldn’t be able to see anything through them except the Sun itself or something comparably bright, such as the filament of an incandescent light bulb, a bright halogen light bulb, a bright-white LED bulb or a bare compact fluorescent bulb. With your glasses on, those light sources should appear quite dim.

If you can see shaded lamps or other common household light fixtures of ordinary brightness through your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer don’t try to use them.

Safe solar filters produce a view of the Sun that is comfortably bright like the full Moon and in focus. If you glance at the Sun through your solar filter and find it uncomfortably bright, they aren’t safe.

You will see streets around the Commons in downtown Columbus closed over the weekend for the Total Solarbration festival.

According to organizers, Washington Street will be closed between Third and the alley between Fourth and Fifth Streets Saturday and Sunday as well as Fourth Street between Jackson and Franklin streets.

The two-day Total Solarbration festival starts at 10 on Saturday morning with live music, space-themed movies at YES Cinema, a downtown scavenger hunt, food trucks and beverages and a magic show. Activities will be going on from 10 a.m. in the morning to 11 p.m. at night both days. The festival is hosted by the Columbus Downtown Merchants.

City officials say no streets will be closed on Monday during the actual total solar eclipse, except at the Columbus Municipal Airport where the Eclipsing the Renaissance event will be going on. That Renaissance Faire event will be from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon.

Columbus and Bartholomew County government offices will be closed on Monday due to the April 8th total solar eclipse.

The city’s department of public works says that there will be no trash or recycling pickups on Monday. Instead, routes will be running a day behind all week with normal Monday routes running Tuesday. Normal Friday routes will be picked up on Saturday.

The lobby and main offices for Columbus City Utilities will be closed on Monday, but the drive through window will be open for normal business from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the afternoon. You can call 812-372-8861 during regular business hours. The department has set up special emergency phone lines for Monday, in case regular phone service goes down. If the main phone lines are not working you can call 812-341-7577 for a water emergency or 812-657-2853 for a sewer emergency.

The Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District says that its facilities will be closed on Monday. That includes the offices and recycling center on Mapleton Street and the Bartholomew County Landfill. Commercial cardboard routes will also be unavailable Monday.

Schools will also be closed including Bartholomew Consolidated, Flat Rock-Hawcreek, IU Columbus, Ivy Tech Columbus, Purdue Polytechnic and the Columbus Learning Center.

An ensemble will be giving their first performance of a new eclipse themed music piece created for Monday’s solar phenomena with a premiere in downtown Columbus.

The Shelby Community Band will be performing at The Commons on Sunday as part of the community Total Solarbration.

Angelo Anton, music director and conductor for the group explains:

Totality will be a four movement piece meant to represent the phases of the solar eclipse.

The two-day Total Solarbration festival starts at 10 on Saturday with live music, space-themed movies at YES Cinema, a downtown scavenger hunt, food trucks and beverages and a magic show. Activities will be going on from 10 a.m. in the morning to 11 p.m. at night both days. The festival is hosted by the Columbus Downtown Merchants.

The Shelby Community Band performance will be at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The Shelby Community Band is a 45 member wind ensemble made up of volunteer musicians. It is a non-profit group and the concert will be free.

You can find more information on this and other community events at columbus.in.us/eclipse